Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
August 2023
From ACM News
LK-99 Superconductor: Maybe a Breakthrough, Maybe Just New Hope
Experts push back against extraordinary claims of a room-temperature superconductor. But even a flop could open up new materials research pathways.
From ACM News
Optical Vectors Beam Multi-Bits
The technique works by modulating the vector-quality factor, instead of the amplitude of a laser.
From ACM TechNews
FAA Approves Largest Uncrewed Aircraft System in the U.S.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration approved electric aircraft startup Pykathe 's commercial operation of its autonomous crop sprayers in the U.S.
From ACM TechNews
Unsupervised, Online Exams Provide Valid Assessments
Iowa State University's Jason Chan and Dahwi Ahn found students' online, unsupervised exam scores largely corresponded to those of in-person, proctored exams.
From ACM TechNews
3D Display Could Bring Touch to Digital World
Engineers designed a morphing display comprised of a grid of soft robotic "muscles" that generate pop-up patterns in response to outside pressure.
From ACM News
Tech Experts Start to Doubt ChatGPT, A.I. 'Hallucinations' Will Ever Go Away
"This isn't fixable."
From ACM News
Google's Search Box Changed the Meaning of Information
Web search promised to resolve questions. Instead, it brought on a soft apocalypse of truth.
From ACM News
Microsoft Comes Under Blistering Criticism for 'Grossly Irresponsible' Security
Azure looks like a house of cards collapsing under the weight of exploits and vulnerabilities.
From ACM News
What Can You Do When A.I. Lies About You?
People have little protection or recourse when the technology creates and spreads falsehoods about them.
From ACM News
AI Boosting Satellite Navigation Capability, European Space Agency Says
European Space Agency says AI, machine learning are being implemented to improve NAVISP program satnav performance.
From ACM News
California Privacy Regulator's First Case: Probing Internet-Connected Cars
Modern cars are computers filled with data, with few clear manufacturer policies on what happens to it
From ACM News
Asian MIT Student's Professional Headshot Turns Caucasian with AI Tool
"I definitely think it's a problem," said Rona Wang, who hopes those who make the software become aware of such biases and develop solutions to mitigate them.
From ACM TechNews
Underwater Robots Could Usher in High-Tech Future for Deep Sea Mining
Renee Grogan at mining solutions developer Impossible Metals envisions underwater robots as key to harvesting precious metals from the seafloor without harming the ecosystem.
From ACM TechNews
U.S. Hunts Chinese Malware That Could Disrupt Military Operations
U.S. security officials say the White House is hunting for malware purportedly concealed by China within infrastructure critical to U.S. military bases.
From ACM TechNews
Fighting Fake 'Facts' with Two Little Words
Researchers have developed a method to decrease hallucinations by large language models (LLMs) by including "according to" in LLM queries.
From ACM TechNews
What Does a 'Twinkling' Star Sound Like?
A team of researchers three-dimensionally simulated the rippling waves of gas that contribute to stars' apparent twinkle, and rendered them as sound waves.
From ACM News
How MIT's Liquid Neural Networks Can Solve AI Problems from Robotics to Self-Driving Cars
Liquid neural networks represent a significant departure from traditional deep learning models.
From ACM News
Giving Users More than They Can Handle
Are Microsoft's artificial intelligence files creating security issues for customers?
From ACM News
Superconductor Claims Could Lead to Progress, Even If They're Wrong
Experts are right to be wary of claims that a room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor has been found, but the flurry of new research to confirm the finding could result in a genuine breakthrough
From ACM News
Machine Learning, Blockchain Technology Could Help Counter Spread of Fake News
A proposed machine learning framework and expanded use of blockchain technology could help counter the spread of fake news, according to new research.
From ACM TechNews
Pills from the 3D Printer
Scientists at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Informatics and the University of California, Davis, three-dimensionally-printed liquid-soluble tablets.
From ACM TechNews
Discovery of Smartphone Vulnerability Reveals Hackers Could Track Your Location
Researchers discovered a flaw in text messaging that could allow attackers to track smartphone owners' whereabouts.
From ACM TechNews
NASA Detects Signal from Voyager 2 After Losing Contact Due to Wrong Command
The U.S. National Aeronautical and Space Administration detected a signal from the Voyager 2 probe more than a week after transmission ceased.
From ACM News
New Attack Impacts Major AI Chatbots—and No One Knows How to Stop It
Researchers found a simple way to make ChatGPT, Bard, and other chatbots misbehave, proving that AI is hard to tame.
From ACM News
This Disinformation Is Just for You
Generative AI won't just flood the Internet with more lies—it may also create convincing disinformation that's targeted at groups or even individuals.
From ACM News
Meta Will Let You Use AI Chatbots With Personalities, Report Says
Want to chat with Abraham Lincoln? Facebook owner Meta is an artificial intelligence leader, but rivals with advanced chatbots already are abundant.
From ACM TechNews
Allowing ML to Ask Questions Can Make It Smarter
Biomedical engineers at Duke University have improved the accuracy of machine learning (ML) algorithms for molecular biology and drug development.
From ACM TechNews
Gigantic Telescope Adopts Intelligent Maintenance Robots
Five "intelligent" robot systems and platforms have been cleared by authorities to maintain China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST).
From ACM TechNews
Cigna Accused of Improperly Rejecting Thousands of Patient Claims Using Algorithm
A federal class-action lawsuit accuses health insurer Cigna of using a computer algorithm to automatically reject hundreds of thousands of patient claims.
From ACM News
Measuring AI Creativity
Quantifying artificial intelligence's capacity for creativity requires an understanding of what creativity is.